Articles

Ockham's broom

Ockham’s broom is an implement conceived by Sydney Brenner as the device whereby inconvenient facts are swept under the carpet. This is common practice in biological research where the facts often cannot be explained all at once; but in due course the edge of the carpet must be lifted and the untidy reality confronted. In this eclectic series, contributors examine the sweepings from their fields and offer a fresh perspective on generally accepted views. (Ockham’s broom should not be confused with the more familiar Ockham’s razor which inspired this less philosophically correct concept.)

Intracellular signaling complexes are not machines but form and dissolve in myriad combinations. Bruce Mayer argues in a new series called Ockham's broom that it is time to confront this reality with modern imaging and mathematical tools.